(CNN) Texas public schools now have the option of using a new state-created curriculum that includes Bible stories after the state’s Board of Education voted in favor of it on Friday. It is given.
A narrow vote of 15 board members (8-7) voted to keep Bluebonnet learning materials on the list of kindergarten through fifth-grade reading and English language arts materials for possible use in the 2025-26 school year. I voted.
The materials were developed by the Texas Education Agency, the state agency that oversees public school education and headed by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Moras.
Critics of the curriculum argue that it significantly privileges Christianity over other religions. Some point out that this teaching violates the “Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
Rachel Laser, CEO of Americans United, an advocacy group that advocates for the separation of church and state, said the content is unconstitutional under the Texas and U.S. constitutions.
“Parents and families, not politicians and government officials, should be the ones deciding whether, when and how their children engage in religion,” Laser told CNN’s Fredrica Whitfield on Saturday. ” he said.
Notably, Texas has independent school districts, and each district decides what is taught in the classroom. Bluebonnet learning materials will be part of a menu of curriculum available to school districts.
Although they don’t have to use new materials, schools can earn $60 per student per year by adopting open educational resources developed by the state.
Laser asked all Texas school superintendents to refrain from implementing the curriculum.
“Christian nationalism is marching across this country, and one of the main focuses of attack right now is public education, because that’s where you can indoctrinate, not educate,” Laser said.
Board member Stacey Childs, who voted against Bluebonnet, told CNN on Friday that while the curriculum is voluntary, most school districts would adopt it given the “significant financial impact” of the incentives. He said he expected it.
Still, she expects the curriculum will be “hugely” challenged in court.
“I represent the most diverse place in Texas,” said Childs, whose district includes Houston. “I represent Muslims, people who practice Sikhism, right? Agnostic people who don’t even have a faith. These people, like Christians, see themselves reflected in the material. I need it.”
Approval of the elective curriculum drew immediate opposition from the ACLU of Texas.
“Bluebonnet’s curriculum flagrantly ignores the religious freedom that has been a cornerstone of our country since its founding,” Karo Achar, the civil rights group’s free speech coordinator, told CNN after the vote. “Today, the same politicians who are censoring what students can read are trying to impose a state-sponsored religion on public schools. We urge you to support public school education that respects diversity and constitutional rights.”
In another sign of possible legal problems, Laser and Americans for the Separation of Church and State said their “lawyers stand ready to defend and defend their religious freedom.”
In Tuesday’s primary vote, four Democrats and three Republicans opposed incorporating the curriculum, including Republican Vice Chair Pam Little, who said the material was too difficult for young students. said. Few people voted against the content on Friday.
Texas is among the Republican-led states that have passed laws incorporating Christianity in public schools, leading to riots and lawsuits. A federal judge this month temporarily blocked a Louisiana law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. new year. In Oklahoma, teachers and parents sued to prevent the state’s top education official from imposing a similar mandate.
Texas last year allowed public schools to hire unlicensed religious ministers as counselors, and the Legislature pushed to require the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
For Sharyn Bain, who opposes Bluebonnet’s curriculum, it’s the parents’ job to teach children about religion, not public schools.
Vane told CNN on Friday. “As Jewish parents, of course we taught our children the faith at home. I think it’s the parents who need to teach that lesson, regardless of their faith.”
Although the Supreme Court has ruled that public schools can teach the Bible in an academic context, “this curriculum does not,” she said.
“This curriculum includes clear, Biblically-based instruction, even for kindergarteners,” Bain said.
Bain added that the curriculum focuses on Christianity to the exclusion of other religious traditions found throughout Texas. “I think it would be great if the many religions represented in Texas, and certainly across the country, were reflected in some way and in an appropriate way,” she said.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott expressed support for the state-created curriculum, saying, “Students learn about pivotal events such as the signing of the U.S. Constitution and the connections between history, art, community, literature, and religion.” “It will help us understand it more deeply.” The Civil Rights Movement and the American Revolution,” the news release said.
The state board revised the materials after a version proposed in May faced intense criticism, according to the Texas Education Agency.
A look at controversial curriculum
In a kindergarten lesson on the Golden Rule, teachers teach students about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from the New Testament of the Bible. The teacher’s guide for that lesson also mentions Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and other faiths. Another kindergarten unit on art appreciation focuses primarily on the Biblical book of Genesis and artwork inspired by it.
In our first grade unit called “Sharing Stories,” we teach the New Testament’s “Parable of the Prodigal Son.”
The third grade unit on ancient Rome features sections dedicated to the life of Jesus and Christianity in the Roman Empire. And a poetry unit for fifth graders will include Old Testament psalms taught alongside poems by Robert Frost and William Carlos Williams. Other texts from religious books are not included in this unit.
The Texas Education Agency says the class will “ensure that teachers have access to high-quality, grade-level materials so they can focus on providing the highest quality instruction and differentiated support to their students.” It was developed using the best evidence in cognitive science.” ” said a May news release.
On Monday, more than 100 people testified before the Texas State Board of Education for more than seven hours, arguing for and against the material. Mark Chanceu, a religious studies professor and Sunday school teacher at Southern Methodist University, said the teachings are “fundamentally flawed” and that “many claims are false, made up, or just plain weird.” Yes,” he said.
Chansy told CNN on Wednesday that lessons included in the curriculum “strongly privilege” Christianity over other faiths.
“The Christian Bible has more lessons than any other religious text,” Chancey says. “There are more lessons to be learned about Jesus than about any other religious figure.”
This is unfortunate, he added, because educators need to teach about religion to provide a lot of background in literature, history, and art.
“Religious literacy is an important part of cultural literacy, and to function in a religiously diverse democracy, students need to know about religion,” Chancey told CNN. spoke. Very young children can also take these Bible stories literally, which can cause confusion, he added.
Barbara Baruch, who is Jewish, testified against the documents on Monday, saying, “I believe our grandchildren should share our family’s religion. We do not want the government to teach them to be Christians.” We need help to stop it.”
She appealed to authorities to “stop the government from interfering with someone’s religious choices.”
“Religion has a place in American society”
The curriculum has also drawn criticism from Texas AFT, the union that represents more than 60,000 public school educators and support staff in the state. The union said in a news release that the materials violate the separation of church and state.
Similarly, the Texas Freedom Network, a grassroots organization that advocates for religious freedom, personal liberty, and public education, says the curriculum is “confronted by extensive and biased coverage of Christianity and the Bible, which makes it clear that Christianity is the only religion.” Insofar as it suggests that it is a religious tradition, it is close to conversion to Christianity.” whatever is important,” said the report, which analyzed the documents.
Supporters of the curriculum, on the other hand, argue that understanding religion is important for Americans. Supporters of the teachings testified Monday that Bluebonnet’s lessons are “grade-appropriate materials that include contextually relevant religious topics from a wide range of faiths.”
“Religion has always been understood to have a place in American civil society,” said Jonathan Covey, policy director for the conservative group Texas Values.
Another supporter of the materials, Glenn Melvin, argued that Bluebonnet’s materials do not violate the First Amendment.
“Many Bible scholars themselves are not Christians, so no one will convert just by reading a passage of the Bible,” Melvin said.
The majority of Texans are Christian, with 23.5% evangelical Protestants, 20.3% Catholics, and 4.5% mainline Protestants, according to 2020 data from the Religious Data Archive Association, which obtains data from congregations across the country. be. About 1.1% of Texans belong to Muslim congregations and 0.2% belong to Jewish congregations, according to the association.
CNN’s Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
CNN Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
